91Èȱ¬

Funding for Britain's Olympic sports will be maintained for Rio 2016, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced.

UK Sport, the body that distributes money to Olympic and Paralympic sports, will receive £125m per year.

How the funding will be allocated between different sports will be decided by UK Sport.

Money from the Exchequer, added to funds from the National Lottery, had previously only been guaranteed until the end of 2014.

The level of funding from the National Lottery will be an estimated £87m per year, with around £40m coming from the Government.

"Exchequer funding is now being committed to 2016-17, to give athletes financial certainty in the crucial final two years in the run up to Rio 2016," said a Downing Street statement.

The statement added that the move is "designed to reward the success of the UK's outstanding elite sport system."

The Prime Minister said: "There's a direct link between elite success and participation in sport.

"I want one of the legacies of these Games to be our athletes triumphing in Rio in 2016, and in future Olympic Games. Guaranteeing this funding will help ensure that happens."

Labour leader Ed Miliband wants a cross-party review of the funding system and said: "What the Games have proved is that they can inspire a country in ways you can't really put a price on.

"My proposal to David Cameron has been to put together a 10-year plan across all parties. Let's not make it political, let's get all the sporting bodies involved and look at how we do it."

Mr Cameron has already stated that more needs to be done to build a sporting legacy for British children.

Earlier this week, he announced that £1bn was to be invested in school sports over the next four years.

"Competitive sport is very important - it's what the Olympics is all about and it's what inspires people," he told 91Èȱ¬ Breakfast.

"We can do better, and we're going to be putting competitive sport into the curriculum."

As part of the new funding deal for UK Sport, athletes who receive support will be asked to give up to five days a year of their time to take part in campaigns to encourage school sport.

Performance at London 2012 is likely to have an influence on how UK Sport allocates the money.

British rowing and cycling benefited most after good results in Beijing four years earlier.

At this year's Olympics, British rowers have won nine medals, four of them gold, while GB's cyclists have taken 12 medals on the track and road, including eight golds.

Team GB exceeded the stated target of at least 48 medals at London 2012 when Robbie Grabarz won bronze in the men's high jump on Tuesday.

With one day of action left, GB have won 62 medals, 27 of them gold.